parental acceptance-rejectıon, self-esteem and psychologıcal adjustment

262 Pages·2006·1.21 MB·English

PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION, SELF-ESTEEM AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT:
CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AS COMPARED TO CHILDREN
WITH INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

AYLİN İLDEN KOÇKAR

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
PSYCHOLOGY

JULY 2006
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.

Prof. Dr. Nebi Sümer
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Ferhunde Öktem (HU, CPSYCH)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz (METU, PSY)
Prof. Dr. Selahattin Şenol (GU, CPSYCH)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faruk Gençöz (METU, PSY)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Ayvaşık (METU, PSY)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced
all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Surname: Z. Aylin İlden Koçkar

Signature:

iii
ABSTRACT

PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION, SELF-ESTEEM AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT:
CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AS COMPARED TO
CHILDREN WITH INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS

İlden Koçkar, Zekavet Aylin
Ph.D., Department of Psychology
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz

July 2006, 216 pages

This study aimed to investigate the psychological adjustment of children
with learning disabilities (LD); to examine the group and gender differences of the
psychological adjustment between children with LD and diabetes; and to investigate
group differences in the way mothers experience having children with LD and
diabetes in terms of their adjustment levels. In order to test the above aims, 2
(Gender) x 2 (Diagnosis) ANCOVA’s were conducted to evaluate the diagnosis and
gender differences on the psychological adjustment levels of children, separately.
Significant diagnosis main effects were found for all of the study variables,
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indicating that children with a learning disability had worse psychological
adjustment compared to children with diabetes. Regression analyses were conducted
in order to find out the variables associated with the symptoms of depression and
anxiety for children with learning disabilities and diabetes groups, separately.
Separate regression analyses were run to examine the mediator role of self-esteem
between parental rejection and learned helplessness and depression in children with
LD. In order to evaluate the diagnosis differences (LD, diabetes) on the
psychological adjustment levels of mothers ANCOVA’s were conducted.
Significant diagnosis main effects were found for all of the study variables regarding
mothers, indicating that mothers of children with a learning disability had worse
psychological adjustment compared to mothers of children with diabetes. The results
were discussed in terms of the treatment needs of children with LD, helping parents
and children cope with LD, and the importance of early identification of these
children for the prevention of psychosocial problems.

Keywords: psychological adjustment, learning disabilities, diabetes

v
ÖZ
EBEVEYN KABUL VE REDDİ, BENLİK SAYGISI VE
PSİKOLOJİK UYUM: ÖĞRENME GÜÇLÜĞÜ OLAN ÇOCUKLARLA
DİYABETİK ÇOCUKLARIN KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI

İlden Koçkar, Zekavet Aylin
Doktora, Psikoloji Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Tülin Gençöz

Temmuz 2006, 216 sayfa

Bu çalışmada öğrenme güçlüğü olan çocukların psikolojik uyumu; öğrenme güçlüğü
ve diabetli çocukların psikolojik uyumları ile ilgili gruplar arası ve cinsiyet
farklılıkları; ve bu çocukların annelerinin psikolojik uyum düzeylerinin
karşlaştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Çocukların psikolojik uyum düzeylerini
değerlendirmek amacıyla, 2 (Cinsiyet) x 2 (Tanı) varyans analizi uygulanmıştır.
Araştırma değişkenleri ile ilgili anlamlı temel etkiler bulunmuştur. Buna göre
öğrenme güçlüğü olan çocukların diabetli çocuklara göre daha fazla psikolojik uyum
sorunu olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca öğrenme güçlüğü ve diabetli çocukların
depresyon ve kaygı düzeylerini belirlemek amacıyla iki farklı regresyon analizi
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uygulanmıştır. Benlik saygısının aile reddi ile depresyon ve öğrenilmiş çaresizlik ve
depresyon arasındaki rollerini incelemek amacıyla iki farklı regresyon analizi
gerçekleştirilmiştir. Annelerin psikolojik uyum düzeylerinin iki grup arası
farklılıklarını görmek amacıyla tek yönlü varyans analizi uygulanmıştır. Araştırma
değişkenleri Araştırılan değişkenlerle ilgili anlamlı temel etkiler bulunmuştur. Buna
göre, öğrenme güçlüğü’ne sahip çocukların annelerinin diabetli annelere göre
psikolojik uyumları ile ilgli daha fazla sorun yaşadıkları belirlenmiştir. Bulgular
öğrenme güçlüğü olan çocukların tedavi ihtiyaçları, aile ve çocuklara öğrenme
güçlüğü ile baş etme becerileri kazandırma ve bu çocuklarda ortaya çıkan
psikososyal sorunları önleme amacıyla erken tanı konulmasının önemi çerçevesinde
tartışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: psikolojik uyum, öğrenme güçlüğü, diyabet

vii
DEDICATION

To Lara

viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz who has
always supported and encouraged me throughout my academic life. I must express
my deepest gratitude to her for her constructive thoughts and guidance regarding this
study and my life in general. Once again I thank her for all the positive influences
she has on me and this study. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Ferhunde Öktem for
her guidance and advice on this study. Her push has made this study a much more
thorough work. I would also like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faruk Gençöz for his
supportive criticisms and insight regarding this study. Finally I wish to thank Prof.
Dr. Selahattin Şenol and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Ayvaşık for their positive and
constructive remarks in terms of this study.
Lastly, I wish to express my thanks to my husband for his patience and
encouragement in this long run.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAGIARISM............................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................iv
ÖZ...............................................................................................................................vi
DEDICATION……………..……………………………………………………...viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................x
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................1
1.1 The Construct of Parental Acceptance-Rejection............................................2
1.2 Learned Helplessness.......................................................................................5
1.2.1 Learned Helplessness in Children with Learning Disabilities................7
1.3 Psychological Adjustment.............................................................................12
1.3.1Self-Concept and Self-Esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities.14
1.3.2 Depression............................................................................................17
1.3.3 Anxiety..................................................................................................22
1.4 Children with LD in the Family Context.......................................................23
1.5 Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities..............................................25
1.6 Comorbidity in Learning Disorders...............................................................26
x